In semiconductor devices like semiconductor diodes and IGBTs (insulated gate bipolar transistors) mobile charge carriers flood the semiconductor regions on both sides of a forward biased pn junction and may form a charge carrier plasma that provides a low forward or on state resistance of the semiconductor device but that has to be removed in a reverse recovery period when the pn junction changes from forward biased to reverse biased. The reverse recovery process contributes to the dynamic switching losses of the semiconductor device. A desaturation cycle partly removes the charge carrier plasma before switching the pn junction from forward biased to reverse biased to reduce the dynamic switching losses. It is desirable to provide semiconductor devices with improved switching characteristics.